A program for all pets

If your pet is allergic to fleas just one flea bite can make them intensely itchy. Pets that are not allergic to fleas will still experience discomfort from fleas.

Controlling the fleas is very important to maintain your pets comfort.

A complete flea control programme involves three areas:

1. the allergic pet
2. other animals in the household
3. the environment

Your allergic pet

The aim when treating your allergic pet is to repel fleas and to kill any that do jump on before they bite your pet. By repelling fleas, you are reducing the likelihood of your pet being bitten and subsequently becoming itchy.

The initial flea control programme must be very rigorous so a large number of fleas will be killed as quickly as possible to help reduce your pet's discomfort.

There are many flea products available, and some manufacturers are now adding extra products to increase the “range” of insects their product covers. What we try to do is choose the products that will be most effective for your individual pet and your environment . Some products you may find useful are:-

Permoxin – repellent & insecticidal (DOGS ONLY, DO NOT USE ON CATS)

Mix 10ml in 400ml water. Use as a rinse on the first day, apply all over with a sponge to ensure it penetrates to the skin, allow to dry on the coat, do not rinse off.

Application should be repeated daily for two weeks, this can be done using a spray bottle. Spray the dog all over, ruffling the coat as you do. After two weeks, application can be decreased to once or twice weekly and whenever there is likely to be exposure to fleas e.g. before going to the park.

Frontline/Advantage/Revolution – long acting insecticides

“Spot on products” - Apply every two weeks initially (first 3 treatments) then reduce to monthly. These can be used in conjunction with the Permoxin. It is essential you use the correct dosage for your animals.

Frontline spray – thoroughly spray the coat (using dosage per weight directions on the bottle), ruffling the coat as you do so to ensure adequate penetration.

Other animals

All the other cats and dogs in your household must be treated for fleas so they do not act as a reservoir for fleas.

If they are not showing signs of Flea Bite Hypersensitivity, Frontline or Advantage applied monthly is usually sufficient.

Visiting pets should also be treated for fleas before entering your premises – ask your friends about their flea control programmes before they come to visit you. Capstar is a short acting insecticidal tablet which may be useful for treating visiting dogs and cats, or you may wish to spray dogs with permoxin

The environment

Flea larvae, pupae and eggs are all found in the environment and can develop quickly into adult fleas.

The aim of treating the environment is to reduce the number of these as much as possible so there will be fewer adult fleas available to jump onto your dog. Obviously there is a limited amount of the environment you can control (you can't flea bomb the whole park), but you need to regularly treat those areas around the house your animal spends a lot of time in. It is also a good idea to prevent your pet going places such as under the house where you aren't able to control the flea population.

Areas that need to be treated include kennels, bedding, favourite sleeping spots, furniture, carpets and dog coats. Permoxin or Frontline can be sprayed on most of these areas.

Flea Bombs can be used in the house. Remember though that the spray is released upwards and then floats downwards, so will settle on the first surface it comes to. Flea larvae love to live in dark places like under the sofa, so it is useful to rearrange the furniture prior to setting off the bombs.

Regular vacuuming of floors and furniture will reduce the amount of eggs available to hatch.

Using growth regulator products on your animals will also help prevent viable eggs being present in the environment. Frontline, Program and Sentinel are examples of products which contain a growth regulator and these can be used in combination with the products which kill fleas on your pet.

WHATEVER PRODUCT YOU USE, ENSURE YOU READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL SO YOU ARE MAXIMISING THE BENEFIT OBTAINED FROM YOUR PRODUCT